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Pitch Wars Showcase

Please note: These are the entries for the Pitch Wars season beginning in 2021 and continuing through 2022. Please note that our Agent Showcase ends at 9:00 p.m. ET on Monday, February 14, 2022. Agents will not be able to leave comments requesting material after that time.
PW2021 Adult #05: RUNE TITHE (#LGBT Romantic Fantasy)
Mentee:
Alistair Reeves
Mentored by:
Laura Elizabeth and Mary Ann Marlowe
Book Title:
RUNE TITHE
Category:
Adult
Genre:
#LGBT Romantic Fantasy
Word Count:
119,000

Pitch:

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT x SILVER IN THE WOOD

Briar can rock a frock and cast spells from his skin, but unless he breaks the curse draining his magic, he’ll die before he can leave his mark on the enchanted fashion world. Desperate, he heeds a prophecy promising success if he wins the heart of a masked man in a village haunted by a sentient forest. But two men fit that description, and Briar’s certain he’s fallen for the wrong one.

 

Excerpt:

It was the eve before the Witch’s Rede, and Briar Wyngrave had run out of time to break up with his boyfriend.

‘Boyfriend’ was a generous term. Hardly anyone knew about Briar and Celyn’s relationship, as it was a strictly casual arrangement. If the secret theatre of sneaking off at parties and trysts in potion pantries hadn’t been so appealing, it might not have lasted. Yet it had—for their last two years in Wishbrooke, no less—so a bittersweet goodbye was in order. Tomorrow, their paths would split.

The difficulty was Celyn had been avoiding him.

Music and the chorus of voices floated in from the street below, barely muted by the single-glazing windows. Every pub in Wishbrooke heaved with witches celebrating their final day as apprentices. Glass shattered and beer splashed to a chorus of ‘eeyyyy.’

Eager to join the party, Briar tied the last stitches on his outfit. The fabric shimmered midnight blue, gold embroidery forming swirls of shooting stars. He’d fashioned it from scraps of velvet found in the bin behind a textiles shop. It had taken a lot of magic to heal the seams so the cloak didn’t look like a scarred patchwork of misbegotten trash.

His familiar, Vatii, clacked along the windowsill, peering sideways at Briar’s clothes.

The magpie croaked, “You look like a harlot.”

15 responses to “PW2021 Adult #05: RUNE TITHE (#LGBT Romantic Fantasy)”

  1. Ernie Chiara says:

    Hi Alistair,

    This sounds great! If you’d like to query me at QueryManager.com/ErnieChiara/PitchWars and include your full manuscript and synopsis, I would love to read it!

    Thanks so much, and best of luck!

    Ernie Chiara,
    Fuse Literary
    @erniechiara

  2. Kurestin Armada says:

    Hello, and congrats on completing Pitch Wars! How can I not read more of something that comps to SILVER? 🙂 Please do send the full manuscript + a synopsis attached as word docs to my attention at submissions (at) rootliterary (dot) com, with Pitch Wars in the subject line. If any of my colleagues also request, feel free to pick one of us or just mention us all and we’ll sort it on our end.

    Cheers,
    Kurestin Armada @ Root Literary

  3. Haley Casey says:

    Hi, Alistair,

    These first few paragraphs already made me laugh out loud, so I can only IMAGINE how wonderful the rest of RUNE TITHE is. If you’re willing, I’d love if you sent your full manuscript, synopsis, and author bio to me at haley@cmalit.com!

    As a note, if another agent at Creative Media Agency requests your manuscript and you’re interested in working with us, please only send your materials to whoever you feel is the best fit. (Though I do hope it’s me, I hope even more sincerely that you make the choice that feels best for you and your writing.)

    Thanks!

    Haley Casey

  4. Sarah N. Fisk says:

    I love it so far!

    Please submit the query, synopsis and first three chapters here: https://querymanager.com/query/sarahnfisk/PitchWars

    If multiple agents at Tobias request your materials, please submit to the one you think would be the best fit.

  5. Ellen Goff says:

    Hi there Alistair!

    This one really stood out to me. I was a quasi-seamstress back in college for a weird, college/city-wide fashion show… I’d love to read more. Would you send me your full manuscript as a word doc to ellen@hgliterary.com ?

    Can’t wait to read more!
    warmly,
    Ellen

  6. Bonnie Swanson says:

    Alistair,

    Hello! I would very much like to read your manuscript. Can you please send it to me in a word doc to querybonnies@gmail.com?

    Thanks!

    Bonnie

  7. Hi Alistair,

    I don’t typically represent adult fantasy, but the premise and voice of this project are so enticing, I’d really love to see more of it! If you’re interested in submitting, visit my Pitch Wars event QueryManager page (QueryManager.com/SavannahBrooks/Pitch_Wars_2022). It’ll ask for your first 20 pages.

    I look forward to reading more!

    Warmly,
    Savannah

  8. Bridget Smith says:

    This sounds delightful – I loved both those comps – and I’d love to take a look! Please submit your query and the first 50 pages at this page in QueryManager: QueryManager.com/BridgetSmith/PitchWars2022

  9. Zabé Ellor says:

    Hello! What a great pitch–I would love to see more! Please send the query (in the body of the email) synopsis (an attachment) and the first fifty pages (an attachment) to zrellor.books @ gmail.com (remove spaces.) Please include “PitchWars Request” in the subject line, and please only query one JDLA agent at a time!

  10. Michaela Whatnall says:

    Okay, this sounds like a ton of fun, and you’ve also comped to two of my favorite reads from the last couple of years! I would love the opportunity to consider this project. Please send a query and the first 50 pages as a Word document to me via Query Manager at this link: QueryManager.com/michaelawhatnall/PitchWars2021 If you have any trouble using the link, you’re welcome to email me instead at mwhatnall@dystel.com.

    If you’ve received a request from more than one Dystel, Goderich & Bourret agent, please only submit to the agent here that you feel would be the best fit, and let that agent know about any other requests you received from our agency. Thank you!

  11. Larissa Melo Pienkowski says:

    I’m really enjoying what I’m reading so far—this is absolutely up my alley! I’d love to see more, so if you’d like, please feel free to send me the first 50 pages at larissa@jillgrinbergliterary.com, with “Pitch Wars” in the subject line.

  12. Cortney Radocaj says:

    Hi Alistair!

    I love the sound of this and would love to see more. Can you please submit your query, synopsis, and first 30 pages here?

    QueryMe.Online/CortneyRadocaj/PitchContests

    If another Belcastro agent requests as well, please choose one of us to send to and mention in your query who else has requested; we’ll be sure to pass the submission along to the other agent if it ends up being a pass 🙂

    Looking forward to reading more!

    -Cortney Radocaj, Belcastro Agency

  13. Tamara Kawar says:

    Dear Alistair,

    RUNE TITHE sounds really good, and I’d love to keep reading! If you’re interested in sending, could you please email the full manuscript to tamara.kawar@icmpartners.com and make sure to include “PW2021” in your subject line?

    Thank you!

    Best,

    Tamara

  14. Lee OBrien says:

    This sounds incredible—I would love to see the rest!

    Submission guidelines:
    You can send the query and full MS to to lee.queries@irenegoodman.com, with Pitch Wars in the subject line. If more than one IGLA agent requests your work, please only send to one of us at a time—if they pass, you’re welcome to reach out to another!

  15. Amanda Rutter says:

    I would love you to submit your Pitch Wars entry to me, using my Query Manager form: QueryManager.com/Amanda_Rutter/PitchWars Please send through the query letter and the full manuscript. If more than one Azantian agent requests materials, please pick the one you feel would fit you best.